"Now we can finally shake off these Marines for good."
Watching the gradually closing Gates of Justice behind them, Mr.3 let out a long sigh of relief.
Then, Mr.3 burst into laughter.
They had finally escaped Impel Down!!
"Yahahaha! Meiser, you're really something!" Buggy sidled up to Meiser and said, "You took out so many warships in one go."
"Well, we are on the open sea," Meiser shrugged.
"True enough," Mr.3 remarked with admiration. "As expected of a ninja."
As long as it wasn't Aokiji, the frozen Devil Fruit ability user chasing Meiser, no number of warships would matter.
After all... his Water Release Technique was truly formidable!
Just then, Ivankov approached and asked, "Earlier, I noticed the Gates of Justice closed and then reopened. Did something unexpected happen in the control room?"
"You could say that."
Meiser thought for a moment before replying, "That bastard Magellan did shut the Gates of Justice once, but unfortunately for him... I was still one step ahead and managed to reopen them!"
Recalling the information relayed after his Shadow Clone dispersed, Meiser grinned.
That Shadow Clone he left behind had been the right move—otherwise, reopening the Gates of Justice would have been impossible.
"I see."
Ivankov nodded thoughtfully at Meiser's explanation, which aligned with his earlier suspicions.
"But how did you guys shake off Magellan?" Buggy asked curiously.
"Gyahahaha! It was all thanks to Xiao Meiser's Water Release Technique!" Bon Clay, who had been interacting with Luffy, laughed heartily. "That guy was completely helpless against seawater—all he could do was rage impotently."
As if reliving the scene, Bon Clay laughed even harder.
"Seawater..."
Crocodile frowned and muttered, "That brat really is the natural enemy of Devil Fruit ability users."
However, the thought that he wasn't the only one who had been controlled actually improved Crocodile's mood.
'Damn it, why don't I have this kind of luck?' Buggy thought resentfully.
If Meiser were his ally, wouldn't he be able to roam the seas unchallenged?
But of course... the guy had no interest in him.
At this realization, Buggy sighed deeply.
"After this incident, Magellan will probably face severe consequences," Ivankov remarked.
Not only had Meiser and Luffy successfully infiltrated Impel Down, but they had also escaped with so many prisoners in tow!
An incident of this scale would undoubtedly enrage the World Government.
By then, Magellan would likely be punished.
Listening to Ivankov, Meiser said, "Assuming he survives, that is."
Ivankov: ???
"What do you mean?" Ivankov asked, puzzled.
"I left him a little gift," Meiser said with a smirk. "Hope he likes it."
The thought of Yomotsu Hirasaka's healing-blocking effect made his grin widen uncontrollably.
I wonder... has that bastard passed out yet?
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
On the first floor of Impel Down, Magellan lay motionless on the ground.
Clearly, the combination of Meiser's Water Release Technique and his own injuries had temporarily knocked him unconscious.
"Warden Magellan has been found!" A sharp-eyed Guard spotted the fallen warden and shouted in alarm. "The Warden is injured!"
As he spoke, the Guard rushed toward Magellan and began examining his condition.
"Damn it... who could have done this to the Warden..."
The Guard's face darkened as he took in Magellan's unconscious form and the blood still flowing from his left arm.
"MEDIC!" he bellowed.
"Where are the medics?! Get over here now!"
"Coming!"
A Medical Soldier came running at top speed from further down the corridor.
"Bandage the Warden's wounds immediately!" the Guard ordered after one look at the gruesome injury. "Or Warden Magellan will die!"
At this rate, he'd bleed out without treatment.
"I'm working on it, stop rushing me!" the sweating medic snapped.
This level of trauma wasn't easy to repair.
As he worked, the man quickly stitched up Magellan's wounds. Just as he finished the sutures and opened his mouth to say "Alright, now we just need to—" the freshly closed wound suddenly twisted and reverted to its original, bleeding state.
Medical Soldier: "???"
Staring at the reopened wound, the medic froze in shock.
What the hell?
Where did his stitches go?!
"What the fuck are you doing?!" the Guard yelled when he turned back and saw Magellan's still-bleeding arm. "Can't you even do your damn job?!"
All that time wasted with zero results?
Was this idiot even a real medic?
"Shut the hell up!" the medic shot back. "I just stitched him up, but the wound somehow reopened by itself!"
Guard: "???"
The Guard stared at him like he'd grown a second head. This had to be some kind of joke.
"Wait... could this guy actually be Bon Clay in disguise?!"
The Guard immediately drew his flintlock pistol and aimed it at the medic's head. "Bon Clay, you bastard! How dare you show your face here again?"
Medical Soldier: "???"
What kind of nonsense was this?
Since when was he Bon Clay?
And who the hell was Bon Clay anyway?
"Point that gun somewhere else before you shoot one of our own!" Domino snapped as she arrived on the scene. "Stand down!"
If that gun went off, they'd lose one of their already limited medics—an unacceptable outcome.
Every medic lost meant more injured prisoners going untreated, sending the casualty rate skyrocketing!
"But Deputy Warden, this guy might be Bon Clay."
"Bon Clay?"
Domino frowned and instinctively looked at the medical soldier. "You, stand up."
"Yes!"
The medical soldier, realizing he'd been mistaken for someone else, obediently raised his hands and stood up, fearing the other guy might shoot him.
Without a word, Domino took out Seastone Handcuffs and restrained him.
Only after confirming the medical soldier showed no changes did Domino speak. "He's not Bon Clay."
The guard, realizing his mistake, awkwardly lowered his flintlock and apologized sincerely.
"Sorry, I misunderstood you."
"It's fine, as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up," the medical soldier sighed in relief after being uncuffed.
He understood Impel Down was in a critical situation, so he didn't dwell on it.
Seeing the medical soldier still standing there, Domino urged, "Hurry and treat the Chief Warden!"
"But—"
"But what? Are you just going to watch the Chief Warden bleed to death?" Domino glared.
"Alright, I'll try again."
The medical soldier nodded, crouched down, and took out his tools to bandage Magellan once more.
At that moment, Magellan's fingers twitched slightly before he slowly opened his eyes.
"Ah— Chief Warden, you're awake!"
The others' eyes lit up with joy upon seeing Magellan regain consciousness.
Magellan glanced around and immediately pushed himself up from the ground. "What's the current situation?"
"Chief Warden, your arm is still bleeding!" Domino said worriedly.
The Chief Warden's face was already deathly pale. If the bleeding continued, he might die on the spot.
"Bleeding?"
Magellan instinctively looked at his arm and confirmed it was still bleeding.
However, he didn't dwell on it, simply using his Devil Fruit Ability to seal the wound.
"Treatment can wait. I need to know what's happening now," he said firmly.
He clearly remembered shutting the Gates of Justice—so the Blood-Eyed Ninja and his group couldn't have escaped!
As long as they were trapped here, he still had a chance to kill them!
Domino sighed and replied, "The Blood-Eyed Ninja and his group have already left."
"Left?"
Magellan couldn't believe it. "I closed the Gates of Justice—how did they escape?"
Could that Blood-Eyed Ninja have used a Water Release Technique to forcibly push the warship out through another part of the Calm Belt?
That wasn't impossible… Magellan thought to himself.
Falling into deep contemplation, he frowned.
"The Gates of Justice were about to close, but for some reason, they reopened," Domino explained.
Magellan's expression darkened instantly.
"So I was outmaneuvered."
He hadn't expected the Gates of Justice to be reopened after he left the control room.
'Was it the guards hypnotized by that guy? Or did a clone sneak back and open the gates after I left?' Magellan wondered silently.
Damn it, this ninja's ability is truly disgusting!
"Warden, what should we do now?"
"Notify Marine Headquarters," Magellan sighed.
Since these guys had already passed through the Gates of Justice, it meant there was no way he could catch up with them now.
This time, Impel Down had utterly failed.
"Aren't we going to pursue them?"
"It's too late," Magellan shook his head. "Once they pass the Gates of Justice, they'll ride the Basin Current—it's incredibly fast."
"Even if we set out now, we wouldn't catch up."
Hearing Magellan's words, the guards were overwhelmed with a sense of defeat.
They... had truly failed.
"The Straw Hat Boy and the Blood-Eyed Ninja came to Impel Down to rescue Fire Fist Ace," Domino mused. "Then... could they be heading to Marineford to join the war?!"
"That's possible," Magellan nodded before sighing again. "Now, we can only leave it to Marine Headquarters."
The thought of the Blood-Eyed Ninja's ability made Magellan sigh deeply.
That undying-body-like ability might very well become a wildcard in this war.
But there was nothing he could do now—after all... they had already escaped!
He could only hope Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others would ensure those bastards never left Marine Headquarters alive.
Of course, if those cowards were too scared to even go to Marine Headquarters, then there was nothing to be done.
Just then, a guard rushed over, shouting, "Warden Magellan, it's bad! Blackbeard's crew, whom you defeated on Level 4, have disappeared!"
"Disappeared?"
Magellan froze, then his expression darkened. "How could they disappear?"
Those bastards had been taken down by his poison—how could they just vanish?
Unless... someone gave them an antidote?
'Damn it, I should've used the Mixed Toxin from the start.'
If he had used the Mixed Toxin, there was no way they could have survived!
Regret flooded Magellan's heart.
Noticing the warden's grim expression, the guard spoke more cautiously. "We don't know, but they're definitely gone."
"Find them! We must—"
Before he could finish, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang from Domino's person.
"Buro buro buro~"
"Buro buro buro~"
"Buro buro buro~"
"Click~"
"This is Magellan!" he snapped, snatching the receiver with a scowl. "What's happening?"
"Warden, there's a riot on Level 6! The intruders from Blackbeard's crew are—"
"Ahh!"
A bloodcurdling scream cut off the report before the line went dead.
"Damn it!"
Magellan crushed the Den Den Mushi's shell, his face twisted in fury. "So those bastards went to Level 6?!"
Did that mean Blackbeard's crew had targeted Impel Down's sixth level from the very beginning?
Who down there was worth such a huge risk?
Or... was that bastard simply trying to unleash all of Level 6's prisoners?
"Warden, what should we do?" Domino asked.
"I'll intercept them at Level Six," Magellan said, glancing at Domino. "You go destroy the control room switches to prevent these scum from leaving alive."
This time, he wouldn't make the same mistake.
"Shouldn't we go together?"
"My combat range is too wide—having you there would just hold me back," Magellan replied.
Most importantly, Level Six housed nothing but monsters who had once terrorized the seas. They were far beyond what Domino and the others could handle.
So Magellan had no intention of bringing them along.
"Understood!"
Domino nodded before sprinting away without hesitation.
"But Warden Magellan, your arm..."
The Medical Soldier looked at Magellan with concern. Though he'd temporarily sealed the wound with poison, leaving it untreated for too long could cause lasting damage.
"A mere scratch," Magellan said. "We can't let these trash underestimate our justice!"
After patting the Medical Soldier's shoulder, the man left without hesitation, heading for the distant elevator.
Watching Magellan depart, the Medical Soldier murmured, "But your complexion looks terrible..."
Yet he knew there was no stopping Warden Magellan from doing what he deemed necessary.
So... he could only pray the Warden would defeat them all.
Frowning, the man then muttered, "Who could have given that antidote to those pirates?"
"I need to check the medical room."
With that thought, he picked up a longsword and left without another word.